WELCOME BACK TO "UPFRONT." WE'RE MORE THAN A YEAR OUT FROM THE NEXT ELECTION FOR GOVERNOR, BUT THERE'S ALREADY A TV AD CAMPAIGN RUNNING. FOR SEVERAL WEEKS, THE STATE'S LEADING BUSINESS GROUP, WISCONSIN MANUFACTURERS AND COMMERCE HAS BEEN RUNNING ADS TOUTING GOVERNOR WALKER'S JOBS RECORD. THE LIBERAL ADVOCACY GROUP ONE WISCONSIN NOW CALCULATES THAT WMC HAS SPENT A MILLION DOLLARS ON THESE ADS. SO WHY THE AD CAMPAIGN, AND WHY NOW? WE'RE ASKING KURT BAUER, PRESIDENT OF WISCONSIN MANUFACTURERS AND COMMERCE. GOOD HAVE YOU BACK ON THE PROGRAM. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. WHY ARE YOU RUNNING THE ADS THIS FAR OUT FROM THE ELECTION? THERE IS A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE WISCONSIN'S ECONOMY IS. WE THINK IT HAS BEEN A LITTLE BIT MISLEADING. A LOT OF GOOD THINGS ARE HAPPENING. WE ARE GROWING JOBS. ONCE UPON A TIME THESE FED'S HAD A RANKING THAT HAS US AT 49TH. WE ARE NOW NUMBER ONE IN THAT. WE ARE MAKING SURE THE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THINGS ARE GOING WELL IN WISCONSIN. WE ARE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. DID THIS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE INTERNAL POLLING BY YOUR ORGANIZATION OR OTHERS THAT SUGGESTED THAT THE GOVERNOR WAS VULNERABLE ON THE JOBS ISSUE? CLOCK THREE HAVE NOT DONE POINTS FOR A YEAR NOW. THIS IS JUST YOU WANTING TO GET THE WORD OUT ON WHAT YOU THINK IS HAPPENING IN A POSITIVE WAY? I THINK THE BIGGEST WAS THAT -- A GOT A LOT OF COVERAGE STATEWIDE FROM THE MEDIA. WHEN WE MOVED UP TO NUMBER TWO, WHEN WE CUT THE AD, NOW WE ARE NUMBER ONE, IT WASN'T COVERED. WE WANT TO LET PEOPLE UNDERSTAND KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING IN WISCONSIN. I THINK THAT IS A FAIR CRITICISM. IS IT THE RIGHT INDEX, THOUGH? IT'S REALLY A PRODUCTION OF THE FUTURE. SHOULD WE LOOK AT WHAT WE KNOW TO BE THE CASE RATHER THAN WHAT WE THINK TO BE THE CASE? I THINK WE ARE DOING WELL BUT YOU CANNOT DISCOUNT WHAT THE FUTURE WILL LOOK LIKE. WE ARE LOOKING AT FEDERAL RESERVE ECONOMISTS THAT WILL TAKE A LOOK AT BUSINESS. A WILL LOOK AT THE REFORMS WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ENACT IN 2011 IN WISCONSIN AND WILL SAY, WISCONSIN IS DOING THE RIGHT THINGS. THE PROSPECTS LOOK GOOD FOR GROWTH, THIS IS A GREAT PLACE FOR A BUSINESS TO EXPAND AND GROW. LET ME PUSH BACK A BIT ON THAT. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO SAY THERE ARE SOME GOOD NUMBERS AND NOT SO GOOD NUMBERS. LOOK AT FORBES MAGAZINE, THEY HAD US AT 41ST IN TERMS OF STATES TO DO BUSINESS, 45TH IN GROWTH. OF WHY ARE THEY SO EXCITED ABOUT IT? ENEMIES OF THE GOVERNOR POINT TO THE BACK -- TO THE BAD RANKING. WE MOVED UP FROM THE UPPER 40S IN THAT RANK IT UP THERE IS GOOD NEWS, THERE IS BAD NEWS. THE FOURTH ONE CONFUSES ME BECAUSE LAST YEAR THEY SAID THEY RANKED AS POORLY ON QUALITY OF LIFE. THIS YEAR THEY RANKED AS HIGH ON QUALITY OF LIFE. SOME OF THOSE THINGS ARE REALLY UNEVEN AND ARBITRARY. I THINK THE FEDERAL RESERVE -- THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS A STRONG BRAND AND ECONOMIST INDEX IS PROBABLY A BETTER INDICATOR. LET ME HAVE US TALK MORE GENERALLY ABOUT THE STATE OF ECONOMY AND WHERE YOU THINK WISCONSIN IS HEADING. WE HAD MARY BURKE ON THIS PROGRAM, WHO MAY WELL BE THE DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR CANDIDATE. WE ASK THAT OUT THE TAX CLIMATE, WHETHER IT HAS RENDERED OR HURT THE BUSINESS. SHE DID NOT THINK TAX CLIMATE WAS THE KEY ISSUE, SHE THOUGHT IT WAS MORE ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE WORKFORCE THAN AN EDUCATED WORKFORCE. I DO NOT DISAGREE WITH PART OF THAT. I THINK IF YOU LOOK AT IT IN ITS TOTALITY WE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT OUR TAX CLIMATE AND TRADITIONALLY WE HAVE BEEN A VERY HIGH TAXES STATE P.M. -- VERY HIGH TAX STATE. WE HAD OTHER TAX REDUCTIONS. YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT, THE LITIGATION ENVIRONMENT, CERTAINLY WORKFORCE IS IMPORTANT BUT YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT IT IN ITS TOTALITY BECAUSE WE'RE COMPETING AGAINST OTHER STATES, WE ARE COMPETING GLOBALLY, AND YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE COMPLETE PACKAGE. DO YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION FOR WHY A STATES LIKE MINNESOTA, WHICH HAS A DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATURE AND TAX INCREASES, IS DOING AS WELL AS IT IS AND IS STILL OUTPERFORMING US IN TERM OF JOB GROWTH RATE? I THINK IT IS CONTINUING. WE HAVE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH MY COLLEAGUE IN MINNESOTA. THEY WOULD MUCH RATHER HAVE THE TAX CLIMATE, THE BUSINESS CLIMATE THAT WE HAVE IN WISCONSIN. A LOOK ACROSS THE BORDER AND THEY'RE VERY ENVIOUS OF WHAT HAS -- OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN WISCONSIN. PERHAPS AFTER A WHILE WE WILL SEE THAT REFLECTED IN THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AND OTHER THINGS, METRICS. DO YOU THINK MINNESOTA IS RIGHT FOR A FEW OF THOSE COMMITTEES CROSSING THE BORDER? OR HAVE BEEN DISCUSSIONS. THE GOVERNOR HELD A MEETING NOT TOO LONG AGO. HE DID THE SAME THING WITH ILLINOIS BUSINESSES. SOME OF THEM DID MOVE ACROSS THE BORDER. I THINK PEOPLE ARE NOTICING WHAT IS HAPPENING IN WISCONSIN. IT IS GOOD HAVE YOU ON THE PROGRAM. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. NEXT, A POLITICAL NEWCOMER WHO HAS HIS SIGHTS SET ON PAUL RYAN'S CONGRESSIONAL SEAT. HIS CONNECTION TO A STATE TRAGEDY, AND WHY HE SAYS THE RACE WILL BE ABOUT MORE THAN GUN LEGISLATION. BUT FIRST, HERE'S THE WISPOLITICS WEEK AHEAD. WISCONSIN DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIRMAN MIKE TATE AND REPUBLICAN VICE CHAIRMAN BRIAN SCHIMMING PREVIEW THE 2014 ELECTION AT A WISPOLITICS.COM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tuesday that a proposed agreement between world powers and Iran was "a bad deal" that would not stop Tehran from getting nuclear weapons -- but would rather pave its way to getting lots of them and lea...